Shadows of a Soul
by The Black Nighttinggale
Summary: Is a soul bound to eternity or the earth? Either way, he still haunts her. 3/4
1. Prologue

I had loved him for so long but by the time I realized it, he was gone…forever.

My good friend Wallabee Beetles was amongst the few assigned to eliminate a new weapon bent on the destruction of humanity. It was new organization of skilled people of all ages. Their leader was a military instructor who died during a great war no one can remember.

The resistance, which its high military ranks consisted of this instructor's squadron, which rebelled against him, had defeated him and their leader was believed to have removed the memory the entire world with an enhanced decommisioner. He became an urban legend when a few archaeologists were investigating a crash site which was not discovered till 2009. They discovered a journal in a tree deep within the ship.

It indicated that the resistance was known as the Adament Army. The journal was created by a young boy who led the resistance. He was yet a young boy whose skills progressed as his years of commander. He was known as Adrian Beetles. Wally found out of his ancestor and quickly took the job.

He had given me his explosives and told me to take his job when we were setting up the C-4s. He said that this was _his_ battle. He and that undead fiend fought at large landing pad at the corner of his tower. The battle waged on and as my escape chopper came by, I had insisted on checking on the fight.

Wally was not strong enough to defeat him, he knew that, he signalled me to do the hardest thing I could ever do to Wally, kill him. I activated the C-4s at that point and he went down with the rest of the tower and all within it.

After that, there peace within kids and adults, decommissioning was dismantled from then on. We were finally able to live a normal life. But yet the KND still stood. My and my friends in section V, enabled the TND, there Abby made peace with her sister but still enjoyed a friendly rivalry.

Though my story doesn't end there, In fact, it doesn't even start there. It starts here, in the subway.

A subway train rushed past me and my friend. I was leaving to China for a week and my friend, Abigail or "Abby", insisted on escorting me to the train. I was scared, but not because I'll be in China with no one to guide me, I've done that already, it was something much, much bigger "You still miss him, don't you Kuki?"

"Don't remind me." I kept shallow tone that would've been surprising to anyone before. Sadness loomed within my soul; happiness is so rare to me, now. Before, I had too much of it, now, I have too less.

"I don't have to, ever since he died, he's been on your mind ever since." She wasn't kidding. I thought of Wally everyday, I kept a locket he gave to me before we engaged on our final mission together; I never could open it though.

"Abby!" Nigel ran down the stairs "Hurry up! We have a mission." He just loved showing off his British pride. The British flag on his shirt proved that. It was very surprising when we found out he had brown hair when he was growing it back.

"You better go. I can take it from here." I told her.

"Be careful." She nodded and ran off.

A speeding train rushed before me until came to a complete stop, the sliding doors whist open. There was barely anybody there. I took this opportunity to find some place where I can be alone. I found a cart near the back that was completely empty, I set my luggage above me and sat down.

For a few minutes I used my laptop chatting with my cousin in China. I was visiting her and she told me all her plans for my visit. Afterwards, I just wanted patiently for the stop. It seemed to take hours for it to stop. I checked my cell for the time. 7:48, it'll take a while. I scanned the area; I was beginning to get bored.

I buried my head in a book called "Letting Go" that Hoagie and Abby gave to me. The title really says it all.

"Kuki?" I heard familiar voice. I looked up only to have my heart race in shock. It was Wally. I blinked for a split second and realized who it was, but by the time I opened them, he was gone. "I must be going crazy!"

My terror did not go unnoticed. "What happened?" A skinny black man entered the room. "N-nothing, nothing at all." I heard a scream in the opposite cart.

"Nothing, huh?" He rushed into the next cart.

Silence loomed once more.

It was taking him an awful lot of time. I had to know what was happening. I opened the door into the next cart. The following cart was practically destroyed! The wall that was meant to stand before me was completely blown off, the opposite end of the cart was nearly destroyed, the walls and ceiling was all that remained, not to mention the trails of blood and corpses everywhere.

At the end of the cart, a figure stood in the darkness, a long blade protruded from it's chest, it glared at me with red flaming eyes. The sight was horrifying. It pulled the blade from it's bleeding chest, making a disgusting sound, and threw it at me. I quickly dodged backwards and the blade hit the lock for the two carts. It broke a part and the figure stood, unmoved of the danger that would become of him. The cart swerved as it's balance broke it crashed. The explosion caused one of the passengers to pull the emergency break, and I fell out, knocking the katana down with me. I picked myself and the blade up, and got back on. The train began back on it's course, nearly knocking me off my feet, giving me a chance to catch a glimpse of the dark figure's glowing eyes to flick out.

But the madness doesn't end there. I knew that my life was about to change dramatically, I don't know if it's for better or for worse, but fate will not be merciful on me. I am Kuki Sanban and this is my story.


	2. Dawning

The train stopped at the station. The China Railway Station was a lot light less bright than that of Beijing. The dark clouds conquered the skies, blocking the sun. It was cold but bearable in my jacket.

People poured out of the train but not many were there. Then I saw him, the skinny black man from earlier. He exited from the cart in front of mine. I followed him, I wanted to talk to him, ask him what he saw. He walked over to the male restroom, I stopped for a moment. 'I can't go in there!' I began to think of what I should do now. I can't just waltz right in there. "Wait a minute. Isn't he dead!?" I began to take a deep breath and went in the women's restroom beside it. Another woman was in there, she seemed sixteen but not from around here. She's probably just dressing up like one. She was placing an enormous amount of make-up on, so far as putting lipstick all over her lips and beyond! As I got to the sinks she had left and slammed the door behind her. It echoed in the emptiness of the room, I was alone but it was comforting for some reason.

I splashed the water into my face. "C'mon Kuki! Get a hold of yourself!" I faced the mirror but I didn't see my own reflection, just the mirror itself fade until it became transparent. But it wasn't just the mirror, the barrier between me and the other room, no longer seemed opaque. There he was, that black man, he was washing his hands. I tried to reach out but could still feel that physical barrier between us. A blond man in a brown overcoat with a hair cut, similar to a bowl cut but set over the eyes, walked into the room. 'Wally?' He takes his hand thrusts it through the man. His fist protruding from his chest. There is no blood splatter but the hand appears to have fazed through him. A dark pigment seems to be darkening his skin to a pure black as it spreads from the wrist of the attacker into it's victims chest. The man breathes heavily as he is paralyzed and his eyes go frantic as he struggles to free himself from this obscure grip. He begins to shake but no effort he could make was good enough to save him. The dark pigment engulfs his body then ends with his head as the black substance voids into his mouth. Then the eyes go pitch black. he began to lose form as his muscles and any existing fat and meat begins to dissipate. His frame represents that of a skeleton, as whatever meat there was no longer seemed exist. His skin tightens on his bones the fists thrusts out. The black pigment fades as he turns gray and all his veins become visible. He falls to the ground in a thump.

The shady man washes his hands then slowly makes his way to the door.

The block began to settle back into it's natural form, solid, lifeless, and unassuming. I tried to stay calm, what was happening couldn't be real. My heart kept beating but it wasn't because of what happened. I couldn't care less if he was the one who did it, all I cared about was whether he was there or not! I backed into the wall sliding down the cold, cold floor. My heart ached and the fear of witnessing that murder suddenly returned to me in a massive wave of depression; and for a moment, I had hoped that my heart stopped right there and then. Tears began flowing down my eyes, but it hurt, it hurt so bad! It felt like acid, running down my cheeks as it plopped on the ground. Just what could I do! No refuge, no comfort, no nothing! I screamed to defeat the deafening silence but the room seemed to absorb my cries. 'Why is it so quite!?' I thought. Confused, depressed, broken - I became a soulless shell... again.

I heard the men's room door breakdown. The officials were here. "Oh my God!" The room was filled with the expressions of shock from the next room. Barfs, profanities, it was somehow comforting from the depressing and seemingly endless silence but the profane shouts felt so dirty. I felt lost in my mind.

A haze seemed to come over me. My body became limp and weak as gravity seemed to have slow pull on my entire frame. I laid on the cold tiled ground as all feeling drifted from body. Consciousness began to escape me as the colors faded into the dark of my eyelids.

* * *

I heard my name. "Kuki! Kuki!?" I struggled to open my eyes but I couldn't. But why? "Oh my god, Kuki, wake up!"

'Miyuki?' It was getting too frustrating, I couldn't speak! I could only think. My body was numb but nothing more. I felt no pain and any other abnormality didn't seem to exist.

My eyes were squinted, I couldn't open them all the way. Everything was blurred. I began blinking several times, forcing my eyelids to open up. I gave up.

I at least need to figure out what's right in front of me. I saw a pink haired woman leaning over me. Shaking me, she seemed to panic. "Ian, get one of those doctors from the ambulance!" She was calling someone outside.

"Why?" He shouted. His voice barely carrying over the noise of all the commotion.

"Don't ask why, dammit! I need a doctor, hence, emergency!" She seemed annoyed, but more worry in her than irritation.

"Okay, okay!" He sounded somewhat scared. My vision dimmed further. I passed out.

* * *

I felt consciousness again. 'How long have I been out?' I still couldn't see much. My vision, still blurred from lack of strength, picked up only a few images before blacking out again. My weakened state is only going further. I saw Miyuki by my side as they rolled me through the crowd on a wheeled bed. On the other side was presumably a paramedic. Behind Miyuki was a black haired male at almost exactly her height. They remained at pace, stopping occasionally for the overbearing crowd.

They lifted me up the stairs carefully. The paramedic shouting at the crowds of ignorant civilians just standing at the stairway and up. As I was brought toward the ambulance, they lifted me up again.

A massive explosion came from the train station. The shock caused the paramedics to drop me. I fell, but the bed was still under me.

"What was that!?" I heard Miyuki again.

I was brought in when they got a ramp down. The last thing I saw was the double doors closing and the siren sounded.

* * *

I awoke in a hospital room. My sight worsened. I saw big bulges of color radiating from whatever was in front of me. I saw something pink on top of something white. "Miyuki?" I kept blinking. No, it was pot of flowers. The door to the right opened. I saw Miyuki walk in after a man in white. The pair walked towards me. Miyuki taking a seat to my left; the doctor stood at my right. "Will she be alright?"

The doctor sighed. "We were unable to decipher her condition. She doesn't even register a pulse..."

"But she's still alive! She's even blinking!" Miyuki still held strongly on hope.

"Yes and her heart still beats, but it seems that some of her blood circulation has stopped. She can't keep up on energy." He sighed again.

Ian walked in wearing blue, it stood out from color. "Miyuki, You're mom's here."

"I'm coming..." She looked at me one more time. Then all I could see of her head was pink from the hair on the back of her head. She went with him out of the room.

The doctor sighed again. He looked at something to my right. "Huh?"

"Oh, my..." He took something from his pocket. He placed it on my heart and his ears. "No... Nurse!!" He panicked, then... everything faded.

* * *

I awoke again, now all I could see was a bright light. I heard the several doctors around me. "So do we have?"

A familiar voice came. My doctor. "She doesn't register a pulse, not even a heart beat. But look, she's still breathing from her mouth and nose. Her lungs operate and she shows few signs of living but yet here she is. Alive." The surgeons gasped.

"Impossible! This is simply impossible! You must''ve gotten the data wrong." Another one said.

"I'm never wrong, Hitachi." He said calmly.

"She needs attention, let's begin." They leaned over then all went black...

* * *

At times I had hoped that it ended there. I was given an unusual sickness then died. Simple as that. But I wasn't sick...

I dreampt sweet dreams of him with me...

I stood under the cherry blossom tree. My hair swayed in the wind as the petals fell upon me. He stood by the tree, arms crossed and a smile on his face. He approached me and held me close. His arms around me, kissing my neck. "Kuki..." he whispered. He held my hands then gripped them between his hands and my waist. His strong arms warming my body as they were wrapped at my sides.

He let go then leaned me against the tree. The birds sung as he placed his hand on my cheek. I wrapped my arms around his head, holding him close to me. We kissed ever so slightly deepening it as time went by.

Minutes later we released allowing ourselves air. He whispered again to my ear. "I love you."

I giggled. "I love you too." Then we kissed again. I felt at peace... no that word isn't strong enough. At those times, those so few dreams, I felt at one with Heaven and all it's serenity.

I awoke again in the same hospital room. Miyuki was crying by my side and so was her mother, Auntie Sakura. My vision cleared and my strength returned very quickly. I had gotten up from a good sleep. I felt good as new!

Ian stared at me with shock; his eyes wide open. His smile filled with relief.

"Miyuki?" I said.

"Kuki?" She looked up at me, revealing her face. With a smile on my face, we hugged. Sakura joined in.

It had seemed to be around six o'clock. The sun was down. The night was beautiful and so was this moment. I felt happy and forgot my pain.

As I looked onward from the hug I saw something at the window. I had hoped to keep this moment with with me long enough but fate wouldn't grant the me satisfaction. I kept my shock hidden from everyone when I saw it. I just thought to ignore it, hope it would go away but it didn't. Wally stood outside the window...


End file.
